Govt gets 73 applications under 2nd round of PLI for speciality steel

The government has received 73 applications under the second round of production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel, Sandeep Poundrik, secretary in the Union steel ministry, said on Wednesday.

The PLI schemes were launched as part of government's efforts to increase production of special steel in India to make the country self-reliant in high grade steel, the official said on the sidelines of 'Catalyzing R&D in Indian Steel Sector' event in the national capital.

"We are ensuring that substandard steel is not imported into the country. So we are focusing on quality control orders so that both domestic and imported steel is of adequate quality and the products sold here are of adequate quality," he said.

In addition to that the government launched two rounds of PLI.

"We recently did a second round of PLI and we have received very good response in that. We have received 73 applications, 73 projects applications and this will add about 16.5 million tonnes of specialty steel capacity in the country," Poundrik said.

About the potential impact of US tariff measures, he said the US move will not impact the domestic steel industry as India's exports to US is not in large quantity.

"We don't export much to USA. Our total steel export to USA is less than 100,000 tonnes. So I don't think that will have much impact on the Indian steel sector," the official said.

In January, Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy had launched the second round of PLI scheme for specialty steel, termed as PLI Scheme 1.1.

PLI Scheme 1.1 covers five product categories in line with the existing PLI scheme, namely coated/plated steel products, high strength/wear-resistant steel, specialty rails, alloy steel products & steel wires and electrical steel. These products have a wide range of applications, from white goods to transformers to automobiles and other niche sectors. The scheme will operate within the funds originally allocated for the scheme, i.e., Rs 6,322 crore.